Is CVE-2021-31010 actively exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks CVE-2021-31010 as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

What exploitation activity has KEV Intelligence observed?

KEV Intelligence has not yet recorded sensor-observed exploitation attempts for CVE-2021-31010. Our sensors continue to monitor for activity targeting this CVE.

Which versions are affected?

CVE-2021-31010 affects Apple macOS, watchOS. KEV Intelligence lists 5 version rows; examples include unspecified to < 11.6, unspecified to < 2021, and unspecified to < 7.6.

Yes. CVE-2021-31010 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2021-31010

Q: How should organizations remediate it?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Q: Is it in CISA KEV?

Yes. CVE-2021-31010 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

macOS Deserialization

Apple / macOS · affected before 11.6

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Severity: CVSS 7.5 · High
Confidence: Confirmed
Exploit status: Exploited in the wild
EPSS: 3.7%
First observed: —
Last observed: —

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2021-31010 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Apple macOS, watchOS. A deserialization issue was addressed through improved validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-005 Catalina, iOS...

Is it exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Apple / macOS affected before 11.6.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

A deserialization issue was addressed through improved validation

A deserialization issue was addressed through improved validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-005 Catalina, iOS 12.5.5, iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8, macOS Big Sur 11.6, watchOS 7.6.2.

A sandboxed process may be able to circumvent sandbox restrictions. Apple was aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited at the time of release..

Vendor Product Affected Status

Apple macOS Before 11.6 Affected

Apple macOS Before 2021 Affected

Apple watchOS Before 7.6 Affected

Apple watchOS Before 14.8 Affected

Apple watchOS Before 12.5 Affected

Published: 24 Aug 2021
Exploitation Reported: 25 Aug 2022
Attack vector: Remote
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: None

CVE References

CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-31010
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212804 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212804
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212805 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212805
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212807 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212807
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212806 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212806
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212824 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212824

Exploitation evidence

Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 25 Aug 2022

Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.

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Source	Added
CISA First	2022-08-25 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets: 0
User-Agents: 0

Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.

Scanner coverage

Nessus template detected 02 Jun 2025.

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Virtual patch status

No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

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Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Nessus	https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/153652	02 Jun 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

7.5 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

EPSS

3.7%

Weaknesses

Deserialization of Untrusted Data CWE-502

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.5 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v2.0 5.0 Medium

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

02 Jun 2025
Nessus plugin available

Scanner coverage available
25 Aug 2022
Added to CISA KEV

Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
24 Aug 2021
CVE published

Vulnerability disclosed publicly
13 Apr 2021
CVE ID reserved

Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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Evidence confidence and provenance
First-party sensor telemetry
PoC and scanner references
Affected versions and enrichment
Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-31010

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2021-31010",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.5,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.03673,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

Early warning alerts

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